Working with steps

To enable a note

To audition a note when clicking on a step

To automatically enable notes every “n” steps

To disable a note

To cut/copy/paste all notes in a row

To shift all notes in a row to the left or right

To shift all notes in a column up or down by one row

To clear all steps

To merge/unmerge notes

To edit a note’s velocity

To specify the default velocity value for new notes

To compress or expand all note velocities in a row

To add/remove a flam

To add slide (portamento) to notes

To specify the likelihood that a note will play (randomize)

To step record notes from a MIDI device

To edit the drum map properties of a note

A. Disabled step B. Enabled step (double-click to create a flam) C. Current step (yellow) D. Merged steps E. Flammed step

To enable a note

Do one of the following:

To enable a single note. Click on the note that you want to enable.

To enable multiple notes of the same pitch. Click on the first note that you want to enable and drag across all other notes you want to enable. By default, dragging is constrained to a single row. If you want to freely drag across different rows, hold down the ALT key while dragging.

The note is enabled.

Sonar creates a new Step Sequencer clip when you enable the first note in an empty pattern.

A. Click an empty step to enable the note

 

Tip: If you want to hear the note when you click on a step, see To audition a note when clicking on a step.

To audition a note when clicking on a step

To enable note audition when you click on an empty step:

Click the Step Sequencer view Options menu and select Trigger Note on Click.

The Trigger Note on Click option is disabled by default.

To automatically enable notes every “n” steps

You can quickly enable notes every 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 steps:

1.	Click on the step where you want the first note to be enabled. If a step is not selected, the first step in the row will be used.

2.	Do one of the following:

Right-click the row you would like to enable the notes on, point to Fill Every, then select 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, depending on the desired interval.

Press CTRL+2, CTRL+3, CTRL+4, CTRL+5, CTRL+6, depending on the desired interval.

Notes are enabled at the specified intervals.

Note: If the Entry Mode is Polyphonic, enabled notes will be merged with any existing notes in the row. If the Entry Mode is Monophonic, existing notes in the row will be cleared.

To disable a note

Do one of the following:

To disable a single note. Right-click on the note that you want to disable.

To disable multiple notes of the same pitch. Right-click on the first note that you want to disable and drag across all other notes that you want to disable. By default, dragging is constrained to a single row. If you want to freely drag across different rows, hold down the ALT key while dragging.

The note is disabled.

A. Right-click a note to disable the step

To cut/copy/paste all notes in a row

You can cut or copy all notes from a row and paste the notes to any other row:

1.	Right-click to the right of the row that contains the notes you want to cut/copy and select Cut Row Steps or Copy Row Steps from the pop-up menu.

The events are placed on the Clipboard.

2.	Right-click to the right of the row where you would like to paste the notes and select Paste Row Steps from the pop-up menu.

The note events are pasted to the new row and any existing events in the row are removed.

To shift all notes in a row to the left or right

You can easily move all notes in a row to the left or right by one step:

1.	Right-click to the right of the row that contains the notes you want to move.

A pop-up menu appears.

2.	Select Shift Steps Forward or Shift Steps Backward from the pop-up menu.

Or

1.	Click a row to give it focus.

2.	Press ALT+LEFT ARROW or ALT+RIGHT ARROW.

All notes in the row are moved by one step.

To shift all notes in a column up or down by one row

You can easily move all notes in a column up or down by one row:

1.	Click any existing note in the column you want to move up or down. (so the note has focus).

2.	Press ALT+DOWN ARROW or ALT+UP ARROW.

All notes in the same column are moved down or up by one row.

To clear all steps

To clear all steps in the pattern, click the Step Sequencer view Pattern menu and select Clear Pattern.

To merge/unmerge notes

Do one of the following:

Merge adjacent notes. Hold down the CTRL key, click the first note you want to merge and keep the mouse button pressed, then drag across all other notes you want to merge.

Unmerge adjacent notes. Hold down the CTRL key, right-click the first note you want to unmerge and keep the mouse button pressed, then drag across all other notes you want to unmerge.

A. Unmerged note B. Merged notes

To edit a note’s velocity

A note’s velocity is shown inside the note cell (step).

To edit a note’s velocity value, do one of the following:

Click a row’s Select button to show the Controllers pane, select Velocity in the Step Editor list, then draw velocity changes in the Controllers pane.

Hold down the SHIFT key and drag the note up/down.

Hold down the CTRL key, double-click a note and enter the desired velocity value.

Click a note to give it focus and use a mouse wheel to adjust the velocity value. Hold down the SHIFT key for fine control.

You can also edit the velocities of multiple notes in one operation:

1.	Hold down the SHIFT key and click a step to enter Velocity Editing mode.

Two horizontal lines are displayed to indicate the range that you can move the mouse to adjust velocities.

2.	Drag the mouse up or down across other rows to change the velocities of the steps in that row. Only steps in the same row may be edited.

Velocity values are updated in real-time as you move the mouse within the row.

3.	To commit the new velocity values, move the mouse pointer outside the row or release the mouse button.

Note: If you would like to audition velocity changes while editing velocities, make sure the Trigger Note on Click option is enabled (see To audition a note when clicking on a step).

For more information about working with controller events and velocities, see Adding and editing controllers in the Piano Roll.

To specify the default velocity value for new notes

By default, all new note events have a fixed velocity value of 100. To change the default velocity value for new notes:

1.	Click the Step Sequencer view Options menu and select Set default velocity for steps.

The Set Default Velocity for Steps dialog box appears.

2.	Specify the desired velocity value and click OK.

Note: The default velocity setting is global and only affects new notes.

To compress or expand all note velocities in a row

1.	Right-click a row and select Adjust Velocity Multiplier from the pop-up menu.

The Adjust Velocity Multiplier dialog box appears.

2.	Do one of the following:

To compress the note velocities, specify a value below 1.00.

To expand the note velocities, specify a value above 1.00.

To add/remove a flam

Double-click the desired step.

Flammed steps are drawn with a dividing marker halfway through the step.

To adjust a row’s flam timing, click the row’s Select button to show the Controllers pane, then adjust the Flam knob as desired.

A. Flammed step B. Normal steps

To add slide (portamento) to notes

To create a smooth slide between two pitches, you must insert controller events in the Controllers pane. For details, see To create a smooth slide (portamento) between pitches.

To specify the likelihood that a note will play (randomize)

You can specify the probability of whether an enabled note will play or not. By default, all enabled notes have a Probability value of 100%, which means the notes always play. To reduce the likelihood that a note will play, decrease the Probability value.

1.	Click a row’s Select button .

The Controllers pane appears below the row.

2.	Click the Step Editor parameter control and select Step Play Probability from the drop-down menu.

3.	Draw events in the Controller pane to specify the desired Step Play Probability value for each note. The Probability value specifies the likelihood that a note will play. The value range is 1 (seldom) to 100 (always).

To step record notes from a MIDI device

In addition to entering note events with the mouse, you can also use a MIDI input device to enter notes.

1.	To enable MIDI step recording, do one of the following:

Click the Record button in the Step Sequencer.

Right-click the Play button in the Step Sequencer.

Make sure the Step Sequencer window has focus and press CTRL+R.

The Step Record button displays a red circle to indicate that MIDI Step Recording mode is enabled and the Position Indicator indicates the current position with a red light .

2.	On your MIDI input device, play the note(s) that you would like to assign to the current step (as indicated by the red light in the Position Indicator).

The Step Sequencer will listen for any and all notes that are pressed until a note is released, at which time the notes that were pressed will be turned on and the Step Sequencer will automatically advance to the next step. The following rules apply when step recording:

If the pitch that is pressed is already mapped to a row in the Step Sequencer, then the note is turned on.

If the pitch that is pressed is not mapped to a row in the Step Sequencer, then the step is skipped.

Undo (CTRL+Z) will undo the most recent step entry and move the current position back by one step.

3.	To disable step recording, right-click the Play button again or press CTRL+R.

The Play button changes back to its normal state .

 

Specifying Velocity for Step Recording

You can specify whether step recording should use the recorded velocity or a fixed velocity value for new notes. To toggle between the two behaviors, right-click on the Step Sequencer toolbar and select Use Fixed/Default Velocity for Step Recording from the pop-up menu.

For more information about configuring the default velocity value, see To specify the default velocity value for new notes.

 

Step Record Shortcuts

Action	Key
Enable/disable MIDI step recording	CTRL+R
Move the current step backward by one step	COMMA (,)
Move the current step forward by one step	PERIOD (.)
Undo the most recent step entry and move the current position backward by one step	CTRL+Z

 

Tip: To insert a rest, simply move the step forward or backward without pressing a key on your MIDI controller.

 

See:

Working with Controller events

Working with rows

Working with patterns

Working with Step Sequencer clips